


The Illusion of Uncertainty

by Serennian



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Rebels season 4 au, Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason Spoilers, also expect some blending of canon and legends, and it may come to be written like that i'm not sure yet, and most likely writing thrawn more like his legends version, either way it's hardly ever going to be happy thryce, except that they'll have suffering headaches thanks to krennic in common, i.e. becoming more like the asshole we all know and love, inspired by treason and where things in that could go without space whales, or at least getting him to that point as the story progresses, you could say this is thryce
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 03:43:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20075575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serennian/pseuds/Serennian
Summary: "I think, Mitth'raw'nuruodo, it is time you be allowed to witness Stardust for yourself."For one with such orderly thoughts so difficult to read, even for the likes of Sidious, seeing the Chiss express such a clear reaction of shock was gratifying in the extreme.--Despite bringing an end to the rebellion on Lothal, Grand Admiral Thrawn's position after the recent and unexpected encounter with his own people is, in the eyes of his Emperor, still a precarious one. Likewise, his former ally Arihnda Pryce is facing the reality that the Empire's business with her homeworld is done, and her own place in the Imperial hierarchy may be about to slip from her grasp. Desperate to prove themselves and hold on to all that they've accomplished, the two are unexpectedly brought together once again for an assignment neither of them desire, but will need to prove successful in if they wish to continue playing their parts for the Empire.





	The Illusion of Uncertainty

**Author's Note:**

> While Treason may not have been my favourite of the new Thrawn books, it unexpectedly inspired me to start writing a proper longfic for the first time in years. So I hope you all enjoy and have as much fun reading it as I'm sure I'll have writing it!

No matter how often a warrior may experience victory, it did not limit the potential for suffering defeat, even in the very next battle following the previous success. A simple fact, and while he was always sure to do his best to bear that in mind, Rukh’s report was something of an unwelcome reminder as to just how potent a truth it could be.

“The rebels have captured Pryce. I have no doubt they’ve used her codes to infiltrate the Imperial headquarters. To what purpose, I do not know.”

Thrawn felt his expression harden at the hologram of the diminutive Noghri, something of a sharper edge entering his gaze and voice. “I expected Governor Pryce to fail but not so completely.” Turning and pacing away from the _Chimaera_’s aft bridge holopod, his brow furrowed slightly as he attempted to suppress any rising frustration or a remnant of the seething anger that had emerged during his last conversation with Pryce. Time had already been short, but now it was precious. Thankfully the Star Destroyer was flying through hyperspace at full speed and would soon arrive at its destination.

“You must get inside and deactivate the shield generator,” Thrawn instructed his assassin, “before the rebels lock down the Imperial dome.”

“And then?” Rukh prompted.

“Then wait,” the admiral replied with one last glance over his shoulder to the other. “I’m already en route.”

The transmission ended and Thrawn walked through the aft bridge’s archway, hands gripping each other tighter than usual behind his back. Faro was waiting just beyond on the command walkway, her own face showing concern at the news as she stepped up to her long-time commander. “Sir,” she began, “if the situation at Lothal is that bad, I’d be more than willing to stay and see things through.” Concern, but there was also the ever-present determination of a committed officer in her eyes. For a moment he considered accepting and availing of her aid a final time. Ever reliable and possessing a much-desired element of certainty, unlike whatever the result of the upcoming confrontation may be. No doubt she could provide one last great service to the Seventh Fleet in the final battle for Lothal. But the admiral’s recent conversation with the Emperor was still prominent in his mind, bringing a heightened awareness of his now-precarious position that could not be simply dismissed. Palpatine’s ire, however, was currently reserved only for him. It was not something his crew should have to also suffer if they could be spared, particularly at a time when it may risk any of their own positions.

Managing a small smile, Thrawn inclined his head to Faro. “I thank you for your dedication, commodore. But whatever degree the occupation of Lothal has deteriorated to, I’m certain I will soon have it well in hand. And I do not wish to interrupt Coruscant’s schedule any more than our recent mission may have already done so.” Anticipating her immediate protest, he raised a hand to cut it off before she could speak. “I insist. And, if necessary, I will order you still make your departing journey. You have not quite left my command yet.”

She met his smile with the reluctant hint of one of her own, despite both of them knowing the seriousness of the present time. “You’re sure, sir?”

“Quite. Besides which, it would only be selfish to continue depriving them of a worthy commander for much longer.”

As if on cue, the mottled vortex of hyperspace beyond the bridge viewport split into starlines, which were then replaced by the polluted grey-black orb of Lothal. “And now, Commodore Faro, I must bid you farewell. Your shuttle awaits you in the main hangar. I wish you well, and may warrior’s fortune guide you and the Eleventh Fleet to victory time and again.”

Karyn Faro stood to attention and gave a crisp salute to her superior officer, just as those in the crew pits stood to give one to her. “Goodbye, sir. If anything will help make that certain, it’s the time I’ve served with you. All of you.” She nodded to the others; Hammerly, Agral, Pyrondi, Lomar, and the rest, each of them returning the gesture. “Good luck here, and wherever you go after. I only hope we’ll meet again someday.” And so she turned to the turbolift bank at the end of the aft bridge, Thrawn watching until the door closed behind her. First an all-too-short reunion with Eli, then the departure of Faro…too many goodbyes in so short a time. He could but hope it would be the only misfortune he suffered today. And a warrior can never mourn for long.

Straightening himself, the Chiss walked to the viewport as the _Chimaera_ approached the planet. The blockade was still in place, and looking to starboard, he saw one of the Star Destroyers making final adjustments to and aligning its position with the rest of them; no doubt the _Harbinger_ joining the rest of the fleet. At least in space, all was as it should be. Now he merely had to determine how best to proceed in order to deal with things on the ground. “Report.”

“Still attempting to establish contact with the command dome,” communications officer Lomar answered. “There’s been a surge in comm chatter. It sounds like—hold on.” He frowned at his control board. “Priority signal, sir, coming from a group of approaching _Zeta_-class cargo shuttles. It’s a K-10 code; Hapspir, Xoxaar, Corbolan, Kyran.” Slight confusion evident in his voice as much as his expression, he looked to his admiral.

Of course, Thrawn recognized one of the codes unique to those in the Emperor’s more direct and secretive service. And he had no doubt as to what business those using it wished to enter his ship to attend to. “Acknowledge their signal and permit them to come aboard. They are to be allowed to carry out their work uninterrupted.” Whatever purpose this chamber Palpatine desired built would serve, the construction had best be done quickly. For the sooner Thrawn could remove Ezra Bridger from the rest of the rebels, the easier it would be to quell their attempted resistance.

Lomar turned back to his board as Commander Hammerly spoke up. “Receiving a message from the Imperial dome now, admiral. They—” Now surprise crossed _her_ features, if only for a moment before she restrained her reaction. “They’re saying that Protocol Thirteen has been issued, and they’re withdrawing all forces in order to prepare for evacuation.”

Attention turning back to the viewport, Thrawn’s eyes narrowed, as if he might perceive the event Hammerly had just described occurring on the planet’s surface. “Then we have no time to waste. The rebels are no doubt planning to launch as soon as all our forces have returned for this supposed evacuation. Helm: ahead full. Take us into low orbit and bring us into position directly above the Imperial dome. Senior Lieutenant Lomar, signal the _Stormhawk_ and _Inexorable_ to break from the blockade and follow us down. And order Major Carvia to dispatch additional troops to the dome in order to assist those within with rooting the rebels out.”

Both Agral and Lomar acknowledged, the Star Destroyer surged forward, and the sphere of Lothal began to expand across the transparisteel plane. Anticipation began to grow even as Thrawn kept his expression as blank and cold as ever. Worry about his people, wariness of the Emperor’s wrath, the loss of his second-in-command; they all remained but were not the focus as he began considering scenarios of how things might now progress. The Imperial occupation of Lothal, once a beneficial effort, had since become an unfavourable and untenable state of affairs. It had certainly lost any appeal continuing to hold it might have had for Thrawn; with the loss of his TIE Defender project, the persistence of the Phoenix Squadron rebels, and the extent to which the world had been stripped of resources, there was no strategic value in keeping his forces here any longer. Despite what Governor Pryce may have to say on the matter, her world’s time had come. As had hers, should the admiral ever have a chance to make good on his promise to her when this was over.

The end, however, would not come with him simply leaving. That could not occur until he had crushed his enemies once and for all. And recent events had shown that, in the Empire he served, that must sometimes be done at any cost. As he predicted which outcomes may be most likely to unfold, he knew that the cost would inevitably be very high indeed. But attainment of the rank he held had been owed to such an atrocity, despite his repulsion in taking the credit for victory at Batonn. And as he came to dwell once again on the Emperor’s words and anger, his majesty’s approval of such action may just necessitate it here again today.

_When the business on Lothal is finished, you will return to Coruscant. Where you and I will have a long, long talk._

Such were the burdens of a warrior. Whether they be right or not, and no matter how much he may attempt to avoid them.

Moving closer to the crew pits, Thrawn approached his weapons officer. “Lieutenant Pyrondi,” he spoke softly, his gaze narrowing as he held hers. “Begin forming targeting solutions for Capital City and assigning targets to your gunners.”

Her shock was most palpable of all. “Sir? Are…are there any specific targets you want us to hit?”

“Whatever ones may limit civilian casualties, if that is at all possible.” His tone darkened, eyes becoming more downcast. “The rebels have taken control of our headquarters, and Imperial forces are no longer in the city to keep order. I doubt they would be able to re-establish it should we be victorious here, just as I doubt the Empire sees any further value in Lothal. But this is where resistance against the Empire began, and the citizens merely allowed it to happen. The city will be punished, if only to press the rebels into surrendering. Should this engagement result in its destruction, it is perhaps better to be done by our more precise hands than someone else’s.” He looked up again, steeling his resolve to match the uncertainty creeping into her expression. “We must end the rebellion here, whatever it takes. Do you understand?”

For a moment there was silence. Then Pyrondi swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “I…yes, sir. Gunners will be standing by on your order.”

“Thank you, lieutenant.” Exhaling, he returned to the viewport, wondering if the weight on Pyrondi’s shoulders felt just as heavy as the mass by which his seemed to have increased.

Soon enough the _Chimaera_ came into Lothal’s atmosphere, descending through the sickly brown-orange sky. When it broke through the final cloud layer the tops of the city’s buildings could be seen at just over the edge of the ship’s arrowhead shape protruding from the bottom of the viewport. Reflective shadows of the grand admiral’s flagship and the two destroyers accompanying it crawled over the buildings before coming to a standstill.

“Holding above the dome,” Agral reported. “_Inexorable_ and _Stormhawk_ in support positions.”

Before Thrawn could give any orders, Lomar spoke up again. “Troop transports away, sir, and the dome is hailing us.”

_Hardly unexpected_, the Chiss thought, when considering the panic his sudden return had no doubt given the rebels. He nodded for Lomar to answer, and soon, the flickering blue-white hologram of Ezra Bridger appeared before him.

The young rebel commander wasted no time in getting to the point, speaking with his usual youthful fire. “Governor Pryce is our prisoner and we have complete control of the Imperial dome, with every trooper, pilot, and officer trapped inside. You’ve failed, Thrawn. Leave Lothal and we _might_ let your troops out before we blow the dome to pieces.”

_Failed_. No, he had not failed. Not yet. But he could not yet say if he would be a victor. Bridger certainly wouldn’t be. Defiant to the end, his insolence had all but sealed the fate of Lothal.

The only change in Thrawn’s expression when Bridger delivered his challenge was the arch of an eyebrow. “Are you _quite_ finished?”

By contrast, the dismay which so clearly struck the Jedi’s when he delivered his response was at least one thing from this day he could savour.

* * *

“That will be all, grand admiral.”

Nodding to Palpatine’s altered hologram, Thrawn turned and left Bridger with him in the chamber with the stone structure. _If only that were so._

He had done as his Emperor had commanded. Unsure of what his precise intentions with the Jedi were, the Chiss could only wait and see if that would be enough to put any thoughts his ruler held of his potential disloyalty to rest. But for now, there yet remained other rebels to deal with.

By the time he made his way back to the bridge, he knew the retaking of the dome would be well underway, and prompted his crew for another report. “We’ve received a message from the _Harbinger_, sir,” Lomar answered.

Now that was not the first thing he’d expected to hear. What issue could the blockade possibly have encountered? Taking the datapad Lomar held out to him, Thrawn scanned through the message. He read it again, crimson eyes glittering for a moment as a small smile curved his lips. Already Pellaeon and his crew were proving themselves a valuable addition to the fleet. “Order them to continue holding the ship and prisoners. And have Captain Pellaeon standing by for contact. We may need to make use of this additional leverage over Commander Bridger and his rebels.”

“Yes, sir. We’ve also had updates from both Major Carvia and Rukh. Our troops are continuing to hold the shield generator despite resistance and have almost broken through to retake the command level.”

“Very good. Order them to press their attack. It is time we brought this to a close.” _And none too soon._

But as the minutes went on, the admiral found his patience wearing thin, and a strange sense of weariness accompanying his all but assured victory. As he had told his prisoner, Lothal’s utter destruction could no longer be avoided. Nor could his part in it. Perhaps it would simply be best to deliver it now. If nothing else, it would compel the rebels to surrender in the hope the destruction would cease. Thrawn wasn’t sure he wished to know if he would remain deaf to any such please.

“All batteries, prepare full-scale bombardment of the city,” he abruptly ordered, and in the corner of his eye he could see Pyrondi chewing her lip but still immediately busying herself at her panel. “On my command.”

The crew held their breath even as they replied, confirming the gunners’ readiness. But before the final order could be issued, in the midst of Thrawn reaching for his comm, the hiss of the bridge doors opening was heard, followed two screaming blaster shots cutting across the tense silence. Slowly, fingers and arms rigid in their position at his sides, Thrawn turned around.

Ezra Bridger stood there with an E-11 blaster rifle in hand, the pair of death troopers guarding the bridge archway collapsed on either side of him, and levelled its barrel at the admiral. “Looks like you lose, Thrawn.”

So confident, even now. But perhaps he had reason to be, if even the Emperor could fail to destroy the boy. “Is that so?” Calmly, glacially, he finished the interrupted action of taking his comm and speaking into it. “Rukh, what is your status?”

“We have control of the dome, grand admiral,” the Noghri’s gruff voice replied. “The rebels are now our prisoners.”

“Very good. Perhaps you would be so kind as to show us.” Even as he looked to Lomar, he could not fail to miss the Bridger’s visible shock and increasing sense of desperation.

A holographic image of those in the dome appeared once again, this one a most welcome sight. The rebels were on their knees, surrounded by stormtroopers. Thrawn checked to ensure Bridger’s attention was fixed on the feed before looking to it himself. Sabine Wren, Garazeb Orrelios, Kallus, Hondo Ohnaka, the clones, and finally Hera Syndulla, with Rukh pressing the tip of his electrostaff between her shoulders. All of them suffering their final defeat, nothing but pain in their eyes. The image was somewhat marred by the presence of Pryce, off to the side and being helped out of her binders by a trooper, a smug self-satisfied smile growing without restraint.

Despite whatever trepidation he may have experienced up to this point, Thrawn smiled as he faced the Jedi once more. “I regret to inform you your assessment of the situation is incorrect, Commander Bridger.”

“We’ll see.” Even with eyes wide in fear for his friends, the boy still reaffirmed the aim of his blaster. “Take a look outside.”

“Ah, you are no doubt expecting someone, am I correct? Perhaps whatever reinforcements you had the _Ghost_ flying out to summon or receive?”

“What…how did you—?”

“Contact the _Harbinger_.”

There was a moment as Lomar worked to do so, then the bridge’s speakers crackled to life. “Pellaeon here.”

“Greetings, captain. This is Grand Admiral Thrawn. I request an update on the individuals you found aboard the VCX-100 freighter you recently captured attempting to come into Lothal’s orbit from the planet.”

“Nothing much new to report, sir. The boy and the clone soldier have since quieted down, but I believe the Devaronian may have tried to bribe the cell guards. I can promise you that won’t work. We’re still trying to confirm their identities.”

“I imagine that will become a much easier task soon enough. Thank you, captain. Carry on.”

The connection ended, and Bridger stood on the command walkway, denial warring with the overwhelming truth on his face. “No, this…it can’t happen like this," he muttered. "I _saw_ it...”

“Your forces have been defeated.” Thrawn took a step closer to the Jedi, hand coming to rest on the grip of his own blaster in its holster. “You fought admirably, but it is over. I suggest you surrender.”

Neither of them moved. Nor did anyone else on the bridge. The moment stretched out, instant yet infinite at the same time.

It only took another moment for Thrawn to decide to finish it. “Lieutenant Pyrondi, are our batteries still standing by?”

“Yes, sir,” she answered, furtive gaze flickering between her superior and his enemy.

“Then now: open fire.”

“What are you doing?” Ezra asked, finger squeezing on the rifle’s trigger just a little harder.

But he gained his answer in the distant thundering of turbolaser blasts impacting on the city below. “Show him,” Thrawn ordered coldly, and the feed of the rebels inside the dome was changed to that of the _Chimaera_’s sensors. The destruction of Lothal’s capital played out with bolts of green light reducing buildings to dust, people screaming and running in vain attempts to avoid either the three destroyers' weapons or the collapsing debris.

“No! No, not again!” His expression now consumed by what could perhaps be described as rageful grief, Bridger finally cast his weapon aside. “I surrender! Stop this now!”

Perhaps the crew expected him to order a ceasefire. Perhaps they even hoped he would. But instead, Thrawn’s conviction exhibited itself in the set of his jaw and the steel of his gaze. “It is past time you and your friends learned the price of defiance.” Stepping aside, he held a hand out towards the viewport in an almost inviting gesture. “Come see for yourself.”

Whether it was simply his enduring noncompliance or being paralyzed by fear, the boy would not move. Thrawn cast his critical gaze over the Jedi’s form and decided that he would not pose any immediate danger in this state. Which was why he did not hesitate to place a hand on Bridger’s shoulder and none too gently guide him over to the viewport, where he could look down and observe the city of his homeworld being destroyed. An image that would stay with him forever, no doubt.

Whatever may result from this final victory, Thrawn knew those things would stay with him, too. As would the respect and enmity that had developed between himself and the rebels of Phoenix Squadron. But change is a constant in all beings’ lives, whether for good or for ill.

Seeing his broken enemies without the spark of hope in their eyes, the horrific stunned widening of Pryce’s as everything she'd built was razed to nothing, and imagining the untold amount of blood now staining his hands, he was determined to ensure that it would all prove worth it in the end.


End file.
